Page 35 of From the Myths of Kings

“Yes, I saw the Mer woman you speak of. But you are wrong about her. This woman?Selussa as you call her?was once the potions mistress of Elorshin. She possessed dark magic that resulted in her imprisonment many years ago, but she is not ancient by any means. Your Mer princess freed her from the Fretum as part of some twisted ploy to use her power as a weapon against Aurandel. She was a distraction in the Tournament, used to divert our attention from Coarinth while the rebellion carried out their secret mission.”

“What, no?”

“You deny that Saoirse freed the Mer woman from the Fretum?”

“Well, no. She did, but?”

“Stop making excuses for her,” Raven cut him off. The pity that filled her voice grated against his heart and sent his blood boiling. “Princess Saoirse freed that abominable woman from the Fretum and now she must deal with the consequences. I can’t say I’m surprised by the results of her actions. Anyone who deals with deceivers and conspirators is asking to be betrayed.”

“You’re not listening,” Rook ground out. “Have you not heard a word I’ve said? Darkness is coming for us all. Surely you’re aware of the chaos unfurling across the Maeral Sea. Thousands of Merfolk are fleeing from ancient monsters. Cities are being razed to the ground. King Angwin is missing.”

“None of that is my concern,” his sister snapped. “Elorshin has collapsed on its own. The Mer kingdom has been teetering on a fragile foundation for years. It was only a matter of time before Angwin and his daughter lost control of the Maeral Sea and the cracks gave way to catastrophe.”

“This affects us all! Don’t you understand? What is happening in the Maeral Sea will happen all across Revelore if we do not join forces to stop Selussa. Put aside your political games temporarily and join us, Raven. There won’t be a world to fight over if Selussa fulfills her crusade.”

Raven shook her head sadly. “I would rather die before I sided with those who stole my Crown. Those who killed our parents believed in a similar cause, or have you forgotten? Hasana’s little rebellion is no better than Ballar Grimstone’s, and we both know how badly his followers suffered in the end. I fought tooth and nail for the right to rule. I lost everything for it.”

She held up her scarred hands, trembling as she waved them in his face. “This dream you’re chasing is an illusion. There will never be a united Revelore in our lifetime. Hasana and Saoirse are manipulating you. Every one of those rebel leaders has ulterior motives. If you don’t think any one of them wouldn’t hesitate to slip a blade between your ribs the second their ‘mission’ is complete and you are no longer of use to them, you’re more foolish than I thought. You’re just leverage for their cause. They’re playing you, Rook. Just like Queen Eleyera and Ballar’s rebellion played our parents eight years ago. You’re going to get yourself killed just as they did.”

Rook’s heart ached as his sister’s scathing words fell over him. He’d anticipated she would resist the truth, but he hadn’t imagined she’d be so uncompromising. It was clear nothing he could say would change her mind.

“I know you don’t understand what is at stake now, but you will soon. I know you don’t believe me, but I am doing this for our people.” He took her hand, his heart tearing in two as the sun sank below the horizon. He felt the ridges of scar tissue that twined around her fingers, a constant reminder of her own Tournament ten years ago. She looked up at him and he finally saw his older sister, the one who used to read him bedtime stories and name constellations with him on the roof.

“You shouldn’t have had to raise me, Raven. None of it should’ve fallen on your shoulders. You had an entire kingdom thrust upon you at such a young age. I’m so sorry you were forced to grow up quickly.” At last, her mask of cold detachment seemed to crack as tears suddenly shimmered in her eyes. “But you must understand that I’m working with Hasana and the rebellion so that no more children lose their parents the way we did. So that no more assassination plots or Tournaments take the lives of family members and friends.”

That icy mask slipped back into place as Raven processed his words, hardening her features into apathetic stone. “I love you, little brother,” she whispered. “But you will come to regret this. And I will not be there to save you when you do.” She dropped his hands.

“Raven, I?”

She cut him off, “I have half a mind to send my Aerial troops to the beaches and set fire to your encampments. The Elders advised me to leave no one alive, you know. But I am not entirely heartless, nor am I beholden to their whims as you seem to think I am. For your sake and yours alone, I will let your little rebellion continue its parade of goodwill just this once. You may continue your rescue efforts on the Isles of Mythos for now. But I must warn you that if anyone from Hasana’s rebellion encroaches on Auran soil, their head will hit the sand before their body does. I will consider it an act of war.”

With that, she leaped off the edge of the crow’s nest and caught an incoming breeze, vanishing into the clouds as if she had never been there at all.

Hel’s teeth. If he hadn’t agreed to meet Raven, she may have slaughtered all the Mer refugees and volunteers in one fell swoop. His stomach churned at the thought. She had always been stalwart and fiercely protective of their family’s reign, but Rook had never imagined Raven could be so cruel. Numbing sorrow settled over him like a fine sheet of frost.

“Sune wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I always knew you were hiding something,” Aurelia’s voice hissed in his ear. Too late, Rook realized the Mer captain was pressing a wickedly sharp dagger to his throat. “How long were you planning to betray us? When did you arrange this meeting with Raven? Was it before or after Hasana defended you publicly at the war council?”

Aurelia pressed her knife harder into Rook’s throat. The salt-laced wind whipped around them and he felt the crow’s nest sway under his boots.

“I didn’t betray you,” Rook countered, trying to stay as still as possible. “I didn’t tell Raven about Saoirse and Hasana’s mission to the Under Kingdom, nor the Relics.”

“Lies,” Aurelia hissed in his ear. Though she was much shorter than him, she had him locked in an iron grip. If he wasn’t so bone-weary, he might’ve been able to twist out of her hold.

“I swear it on my life. I foolishly believed I could persuade Raven to join our cause.” Saying the words out loud almost made him scoff. How could he have been so naive? Perhaps he truly was just as gullible as his sister accused him of being. “I only wanted a moment of her time. I just wanted Raven to hear me out.” Not that she heard me, he thought.

Aurelia didn’t remove her dagger from his neck, but she seemed to loosen her hold. “If your secret meeting was not malicious, why did you neglect to inform us? Why hide it?”

“How would you have reacted if I told you? Had I been forthcoming, you would’ve chained me up and sent me back to Tellusun in one of the carriages. You wouldn’t have allowed me to meet with my sister even with a full troupe of guards present. I had to make this meeting happen. She is my sister, the only family I have left. Even if it turned out to be futile, I had to try.” He let the words hang between them. Her silence was confirmation of his accurate assumption.

“While that may be so, your record isn’t exactly trust-inducing,” Aurelia hedged. “You’re not doing a great job at convincing us of your loyalty. We’ve risked a lot to have you here, you know. Saoirse has vouched for your character and risked her reputation in the rebellion to have them accept you. You cannot afford to keep secrets.”

At last, she removed her knife and stepped away from him, her turquoise eyes guarded. Still feeling their precarious perch lurching in the sea breeze, Rook braced himself on the broken railing and turned to look out at the Southern Sea. The sun slipped below the horizon and the last threads of sunset melted into a velvet-dark night sky that bled into the dark waves.

He drew a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you of our meeting. There were several times I wanted to, but if I hadn’t arranged the meeting, she would’ve destroyed our refugee encampments and slaughtered every last Mer on the beach. I couldn’t sway her to join forces, but I did convince her to leave the relocation efforts alone. At least for now.”

Aurelia’s eyes glinted with horror. “Titans. What would possess her to kill innocents?”

“The Elders. They’ve gotten in her head. They’re advising her every move, shifting her around their board like a playing piece. Not even I could talk sense into her.”

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